Convertible furniture

ABSTRACT

571,521. Convertible seats. PALADINO, A. R. Jan 13, 1944, No. 693. [Class 52 (ii)] A seat convertible into a bed has four pivotally connected sections D, E, F, G, which unfold to form the bed frame, the head section having upturned ends 35 pivoted to the seat frame A. Links 40 are also pivoted on the seat frame at their inner ends and at their outer ends are bifurcated and pivoted respectively to the bed frame sectionE and to links 46 which serve to fold supporting legs 45 pivoted at the juncture of the frame sections E and F. Additional legs 60 support the outer section G and these are automatically folded by links 62 when the bed is converted into a seat. A further linkage 55 opens or closes the upper panel 15 of the front rail of the seat frame. On folding the bed the footrest K is turned down and clamps the end of the overlay J, Fig. 4; the outer section G is turned upwards at right angles to the remaining sections and continued pressure will swing the links 40 and upturned ends 35 of the section D rearwardly, the sections F and G turning about the pivots 27 through a right angle and the folded frame swinging down into the position shown in Fig. 4 in which it can support one or more loose seat cushions L.

p 1944- A. R. PALADINO 2,345,624

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed June 1'7, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 & M. Q

46 E 5, 6? az a0 INVENTOR.

/I/va-Em R/PALHDINO awrw ATTORNEYS April 4, 1944. A. R. PALADINO CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Filed June 17, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Awe-E10 A. PALA omo @MFW ATTORNEXJ April 4, 1944. A. R. PALADINO 2,345,624

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE I Filed June 17, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR. A/mac R. Rama/Na ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 4, 1944 CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE Angelo It. Paladino, Elmont, N. Y., assignor to Superior Felt and Bedding 00., Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Delaware Application June 17, 1942, Serial No. 447,368

3 Claims.

This invention has to do with furniture which is adapted to be converted from one use to another such as a love seat, couch, sofa, chair or the like, for conversion into a bed, and the present invention is in the nature of an improvement upon an invention for convertible furniture covered by United States Letters Patent No. 2,144,929 granted January 24, 1939.

Broadly, the instant invention comprehends a bed-forming unit which is adapted to be compactly folded and housed within the main furniture frame so as to provide a seat support when so folded and within which unit the mattress is enclosed.

The invention further resides in a foldable combination bed-forming and seat-forming unit embodying hingedly connected sections which are so related and proportioned as to closely surround the mattress when the unit is folded and arranged in seat-supporting position and which unit serves as a resilient mattress support when unfolded to serve as a bed.

More particularly the invention is directed to a combined lied-forming and; seat-supporting unit which is so constructed, arranged and supported with reference to the furniture frame as to permit of movement of the unit from a folded lowered position within the frame, to an unfolded elevated' position lying. partially within and projecting partially outward from said frame with supplemental supporting legs automatically movable to and from active positions coincident with and. effected by the relative movement of the unit sections.

As a further feature the invention embodies a furniture frame having a hinged front panel movable by and with the bed-forming and seatsupporting unit to raised and lowered positions for covering and concealing the folded unit when the panel is raised and to provide a clearance space for the. projecting portion of the unit when the panel is lowered,

With the above enumerated and other objects in view,v the invention is more fully described in the following specification and disclosed in th accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional plan view of a convertible article of furniture illustrating the combined bedforming and seat-supporting unit thereof in its unfolded extended position to serve as a bed.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof i1- lustrating the unit in side elevation and in unfolded extended bed-forming position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating the'combined bed-forming and seat-supporting unit in an intermediate position.

Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the unit folded and housed within the main. frame of the. furniture and. functioning as a seat support.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view inside of the rear corner of the main frame showing the head section supporting bracket and one of the bearing ears for supporting the foot section in seat-supporting position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the outer end of the foot section illustrating the foot piece folded inwardly in full lines and swung outwardly in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, A designates generally the main frame of an article of furniture such as alove seat, sofa, couch, chair or the like, which includes the side rails it the rear rails H and a front rail l2 rigidly secured together. and supported by depending feet |3.at the corners thereof. The main frame also includes any suitable type of back rest 14 which is secured to and extends between the side rails Ill. The front rail l2 has swingably connected thereto a panel I5 by-means of hinges I6 whereby the panel may-be swung downwardly from the raised position shown' in Fig. 4 to the lowered position. shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and the purpose of which will be hereinafter set forth.

A combined seat-supporting and bed-forming unit designated generally by the reference character B is supported by the main frame A for relative movement with reference thereto and said unit is composed of a plurality of hingedly connected foldable sections, namely, a head section D, a body section E, an. intermediate section F and a foot section G. Each of the sections is preferably constructed of angle iron stock having a horizontal lower flange and an upstanding vertical flange and the head section D includes a cross rail 20 and spaced parallel side rails 2| joined adjacent their free ends by a cross brace 22 which is preferably offset downwardly.

The body section E of the unit consists of spacedparallel side rails 23 swingably connected at their rear ends to thefree forward ends of the side rails 2| of the head section by pivot elements thelower horizontal flanges of the side rails 23 disposed underthe lower horizontal flanges of theside rails 2|. The forward free ends of the side rails 23 of the body section E are connected by a cross brace 25 which is offset downwardly and the free forward ends of the side rails 23 of the'section E are swingably connected with the side rails 26 of the intermediate section F by pivot elements 21 which extend through the vertical flanges of said side rails. The vertical flanges of the side rails 26 of the section F are disposed inside of the vertical flanges of the side rails 23 of the section E and the lower horizontal flanges of the side rails 26 are disposed over the horizontal lower flange of the side rails 23. The

the forward ends of the side rails 26 of the in- I termediate section F for swinging movement by pivot elements 3| extending through .the vertical flanges of said rails with the vertical flanges of the rails 30 disposed outside of the vertical flanges of the side rails 26 and with the lower horizontal flanges of the side rails 30 disposed below the horizontal lower flanges of the side rails 26. The outer free ends of the side rails 30 of the foot section G are connected by an end brace 32.

A spring fabric H of an desired type is secured and stretched between the end and side rails of the rectangular bed frame defined by the unit B when the sections D, E, F and G are disposed in substantially aligned bed-forming relation as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, and is adapted to support a mattress J.

The unit B is supported for relative movement in the main furniture frame A by means of upstanding arms 35 rigidly secured to and projecting upwardly from the opposite sides of the head section D adjacent the rear end thereof. The arms 35 are swingably connected by pivot elements 36 to the upper ends of brackets 31 anchored to the side rails Ill of the main frame A. The unit B is further swingably supported by links 40 which are swingably connected at their upper ends by pivot elements 4| to the side rails 23 of the body section E of the unit B and which are pivotally connected by pivot elements 42 at their lower ends to brackets 43 anchored to the side rails ID. This mounting pivotally and swingably supports the head and body section of the unit B so that they may be moved from an extended aligned bed-forming position as illustrated in Fig. 2 to a folded, substantially right angular position, as shown in Fig. 4 with the head section D disposed substantiall vertical and the body section E substantially horizontal and lowered to lie within the lower portion of the main frame A.

In order to support the projecting forward portion of the body section E when the same is in bed-forming position as shown in Fig. 2, a pair of legs 45 are provided which are respectively connected for swinging movement to the opposite side rails 23 and as shown, said connection consists of the pivot elements 21 which pivotally connect the section E with the section F.

For the purpose of effecting automatic swinging of the legs from the active depending supporting position shown in Fig. 2 to the inactive folded out-of-the-way position shown in Fig. 4,

links 46 are employed, the forward ends of which are pivoted by pivot elements 41 to the legs 45. The opposite rear ends of the links 45 are pivotally connected by pivot elements 48 to angulated arms 49 formed as a part of the mounting links 40. The links 46 are also connected at their rear ends by the same pivot elements 48 to links 50, the forward ends of which are pivoted by pivot elements to the upstanding lugs 52 carried by the side rails 26 of the intermediate section F.

The panel I5 is automatically swung downwardly and upwardly coincident with the unfolding and folding of the unit B by means of links 55, the rear ends of which are pivotally connected by means of pivot elements 56 to the mounting links 40 and which are pivotally connected by means of pivot elements 51 at their forward ends to upstanding lugs 58 anchored to the inside of the panel [5. The foot section G is also provided with a pair of supporting legs 60 which are pivotally connected by pivot elements 6| to the side rails 30 adjacent the forward outer free end of the foot section and said legs 60 are automatically moved from the depending active position shown in Fig. 2 to the folded, out-of-the-way position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, by relative movement of the section G with reference to the intermediate section F by means of links 62, the front ends of which are pivotally connected by pivot elements 63 to the vertical flanges of the side rails 26 of the section F and the rear ends of which are connected by pivot elements 64 to the upstanding rearwardly inclined terminals 65 of the supporting legs 60.

In order to limit the upward swinging movement of the legs 60 from the active to the inactivefolded position and to arrest the relative swinging movement of the section G to approximately a right angular relation to the section F, stop lugs 66 project laterally outward from the side rails 30 of the section G into the path of movement of the legs 60. The foot section G is also preferably provided with a foot piece designated generally by the reference character K and consisting of a cross bar 68 having rigidly attached angulated side arms 69 which are pivotally attached by pivot elements Hl inside of the vertical flanges of the side rails 30 of the foot section G for swinging movement of the foot piece K from the unfolded extended position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to the folded position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The foot piece is retained in either of its two positions by means of coiled contractile springs H attached to pins 12 and 13 provided respectively on the side arms 69 and on the side rails 30 where they function on the past dead center principle.

In use, with the unit B in bed-forming position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the folding of the same to seat-supporting position within the main frame A is accomplished as follows: The foot piece K is swung rearwardly on its pivot 10 so that the cross bar 68 thereof overlies and clamps the foot portion of the mattress against the spring fabric H of the foot section. The coiled contractile springs H attached to the pins 12 and 13 set up a tension when the foot piece K is in this position to retain the mattress in clamped relation. The

foot section G is then folded upwardly to substantially a right angle relation to the remaining sections D, E and F of the unit B. This eifects the folding of the legs 60 upwardly and alongside of the side rails 30 of the section G .until the legs contact with the stop lugs 66.

The movement of the legs 60 is effected by means of the links 62 which are pivotally attached at their opposite ends as at 63 and 64 to the section F and the inclined upper terminal 65 of the legs 65 as the relative movement between the section G and section F in effect exerts an outward thrust on the upper terminals of the legs 50. With the section G in this position, the operator by continuing to push the section G rearwardly swings the unit B to tilt the body section E upwardly on the mounting links 40 which links swing on their pivot elements 42, while the section E swings relatively on said links 40 with the pivot elements 4| as a fulcrum. At the same time, the section D swings downwardly on its pivot elements 36 and the sections D and E are broken downwardly on their pivotal connections 24. This disposes the sections of the unit B in substantially the position illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings and continued pushing on the section G rearwardly causes the intermediate section F to turn relatively to the section E on the pivotal connections 21. The supporting legs 45 are then caused to fold rearwardly due to the relative movement of the section F with reference to the section E so that the legs 45 pass over the panel l and as the unit B is swung rearwardly on the mounting links 48 and the pivotal connections 36, the unit moves downwardly into the main frame A to the folded housed position illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. During this latter movement, the rearward swinging of the mounting links 40 effects the upward swinging of the panel l5 due to the pull exerted on the links 55 which are pivotally connected as at 56 and 51 to the mounting links and to the lugs 58 on the panel.

In order to counter-balance and tension the movement of the unit B, a pair of coiled contractile springs 15 are provided for each side of the unit with one extremity of each spring anchored to a pin 16 of the side frame 2| of the head section D and the other extremity anchored to a lug H on the mounting link 40. When the unit B is folded and housed within the main frame A, the forward ends of the side rails 23 rest upon hearing brackets '18 carried by the front rail I2 of the main furniture frame. The free forward end of the foot section G is provided with laterally projecting stop lugs 19 which rest upon bearing ears 80 formed as a part of the brackets 31 to which the arms 35 are pivotally connected. It will be observed that when in the folded housed position shown in Fig. 4, the sections D, E, F and G are disposed in box formation with the foot section G arranged horizontal and substantially parallel to and in superposed relation with the body section E. In this position the head and intermediate sections D and F are disposed substantially vertical and approximately parallel to each other so that the mattress J is surrounded or enclosed by the unit B. The foot section G serves as a means to sup-port one or more loose cushion seats L which are removed and placed aside when the unit is unfolded and extended to serve as a bed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a convertible article of furniture, a rectangular main frame, a combined bed-forming and seat-supporting unit composed of head, body, intermediate and foot sections, means pivotally connecting said unit to the main frame for relative movement from a folded seat-supporting position to an extended bed-forming position, said means including an angulated upstanding arm at each side pivotally connected at their upper ends to the main frame and formed as extensions of the head section and supporting links pivotally connected at their upper ends to the body section medially of the sides respectively and pivotally connected at their lower ends to the main frame, means hingedly connecting said sections together, a pair of legs hingedly connected to said unit at the pivotal connection of said body and intermediate sections, a link pivotally connected to each of said legs medially thereof and pivotally connected to an angulated arm carried by said supporting links respectively and links pivotally connected to the said angulated arms at the pivotal connections of said previously mentioned links therewith and pivotally connected at their opposite ends to the intermediate section of said unit for effecting the automatic move ment of said legs to active and inactive positions as said unit sections are moved to folded and extended relation.

2. In a convertible article of furniture, a rectangular main furniture frame, a combined bedforming and seat-supporting unit composed of head, body, intermediate and foot sections, means pivotally connecting said sections together and said unit to the main frame for relative movement from a folded seat-supporting position with in the said frame to an extended bed-forming position, said means including angulated upstanding arms pivoted at their upper ends to the main frame and formed as extensions of the head section and links pivoted at their upper ends to the body section medially of the sides respectively and pivoted at their lower ends to the main frame, a pair of legs hingedly connected to said unit at the pivotal connection of said body and intermediate sections, links pivoted to said legs respectively medially thereof and pivoted to angulated arms formed respectively on said supporting links, links pivoted to said angulated arms at the pivotal connection of said links therewith respectively and pivoted at their opposite ends to upstanding lugs carried by said intermediate section medially of the sides thereof respectively, and a second pair of legs pivoted at their upper ends to the foot section adjacent the end thereof and links pivoted at their opposite ends to angulated extensions of said last mentioned pair of legs respectively and to said intermediate section of said unit for effecting the automatic movement of said pairs of legs to active and inactive positions as said unit sections are moved to folded and extended relation.

3. In a convertible article of furniture, a rectangular main furniture frame including a front rail having an upper panel hingedly connected therewith to swing downwardly to a lowered position, a combined bed-forming and seat-supporting unit including head, body, intermediate and foot sections hingedly connected together for movement from an aligned bed-forming position to inactive folded box formation adapted to enclose a mattress and disposed within the main frame to serve as a support for a cushion seat, means for mounting said unit for relative movement with reference to the main frame including angulated upstanding arms pivoted at their upper ends to the main frame and formed as extensions of the head section and supporting links pivoted at their upper ends to the body section medially of the sides respectively and pivoted at their lower ends to the main frame, a pair of legs hingedly connected to said unit at the pivotal connection of said body and intermediate sections, links connecting said legs respectively with angulated arms formed on said supporting links for pivotal movement of the legs with the body section and a link pivotally connected to said supporting links respectively and pivotally connected to said panel for movement of the panel to lowered position as the unit is unfolded and for movement of the panel upwardly when the unit is moved to folded position within the main frame.

ANGELO R. PALADINO. 

